Help My Cory Is Dying And I Dont Know Why?

[B2k2]

Hi,

One of my cory sterbais is dying right now and I really don't know what to do... I noticed that it seem to be flopping about and could sit up without falling on its side. it seems to be breathing really slowly and i've just seen it trying to swim to the top of my tank but was spinning around. this is really upsetting me. I've just tested the water and ammonia is 0 and nitrite is 0.1. do you thing this small rise in nitrite could be causing this? also i have noticed that its stomach is concave and it has a red spot at the bottom of its eye. they were all happily feeding on frozen blood worm last night and had nice full tummies. I haven't been overfeeding and was not going to feed tonight. please help is there anything i can do?

 

[WILDER]

Not sounding good i'm afraid, i would recommend a water change with having a slight nitrite reading, is the red spot near the eye look like a blood spot.

Not the writer of this information below.
Red spots on skin can be caused by:
Regarding the small red dot, small pinprick like haemorrhages (called petechiae) can be due to a local lesion, a generalised septicaemia or toxaemia caused by acute viral and bacterial infections.

 

[B2k2]

Thanks for the info wilder...

Unfortunatly my cory died and i'm guessing from the info that maybe this was something unavoidable. Only bought the fish on sunday with another identical cory. I noticed that both fish have/had reddening in the gill area which can be seen through the skin. Is this another sign of a problem? the remaining of the two seems to be ok but also seems to have a sunken/concave stomach. is this anything to be worried about?

 

[WILDER]

Yes not sounding good, the red gills can be poor water quality or a parasite any flicking and rubbing against objects, did they have the red gills when you bought them, or it could be due to the slight nitrite reading, the concave belly can mean internal parasites, what does it look like when the fish goes to the toilet,is there a red inflamed large anus, plus it can mean parasites, is the fish still eating.

Also forgot to ask does the fish look like its wasting away.

You maybe need to read this, to be sure.
http/www.4qd.org/Aqua/disease/tb.html

 

[B2k2]

they both had red gills when i bought them, didnt realise till i got them home.

The remaining one of the two looks healthy, neither flicked or rubbed against anything. haven't seen it go to the toilet and anus isnt red. havent feed the fish today as i fed well with frozen bloodworm, all fish had full bellies. is still showing normal behaviour as to looking for food and filtering sand through its gills.

 

[WILDER]

The lfs water quality might of been poor causing the gills to be red, just keep an eye on them, can you issolate the corys.

 

[B2k2]

thats what i'm thinking to be honest. I'm going to call them tomorrow because this isn't the first time this has happened. I had four LFWCMM not long ago and they all died within 2 days, the shop gave me 3 baby cories and one of them died within 3 days. Also one of the other cories has short barbs which I have heard can be sign of bacterial infection. i couldn't choose the fish when they gave them to me.

I'm a bit miffed to be honest because the shop is supposed to be very good, has been in PFK's top 40 for the last two years. The staff are very knowledgable so i'll have a word with them tomorrow.

unfortunatly i have no means of isolation as I only have one tank.

 

[WILDER]

Your'e right corys are very prone to bacterial problems if not kept in very well maintained tanks, plus if the barbels were short they need a bacterial med as they can't find food without there barbels.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi B2k2

What is the temperature of your tank?

I'm asking that because I believe that White Cloud Mountain Minnows are a cold water fish, and C. sterbai are one of those corys that require warm water to survive. There are other corys that might do better for you, such as C. paleatus (peppered corys) and C. aeneus (bronze or albino corys).

It's not unusual for fish to be sick when they arrive at the lfs. Redness in the gill area or other parts can be caused from crowded conditions, and other stress they go through during shipping. They often recover, but not always. It's important that you inspect every fish you buy before you let them bag it, and setting up a quarantine tank is usually a good idea. After you have stocked your tank fully, it can then be used as a hospital tank or for breeding.

 

[B2k2]

My tank is running at 26 degrees C or 79 degrees F.

I have read that WCMM can survive in a wide range of temps but do prefer colder water. Warm water will just reduce their life span slightly. Alot of people keep WCMM in tropical community tanks with great success. I was very cafeful with acclimatising and they were bought from a tank running at 26 C.

My other cory seems to be ok still, gills are slightly red so maybe its recovering now. I've started a course of melafix today just to be on the safe side. hopefully this will sort out any underlying problems.

 

[lavapeanut]

Hello, B2k2 hope your cory sterbais is fine now. I did a little search in yahoo image for what corydoras sterbais looks like. And I remember I saw some selling in the fish shop I bought my 2 cories too... Me are kind of in the sitution like you were. the shop keeper don't allow me to fish cory out myself since she afraid I will distrub other fishes in that tank...

well, same as you, when I look at the cories when I get back home, I saw red gills on them when I look closely on them.... *sigh* thought they were sinking in the bottom of my tank yesterday and now they still swim a lot around the tank with my danios

Your cory sterbais still alone or with few more cory of it's kind?(opps sorry didn't saw your signature said you have 3 cories") Just got told by a member here my cories are Corydoras paleatus (aslo know as peppered catfish), and did a little research on them.


peanut

 

[Mackenzie]

Not sounding good i'm afraid, i would recommend a water change with having a slight nitrite reading, is the red spot near the eye look like a blood spot.

Not the writer of this information below.
Red spots on skin can be caused by:
Regarding the small red dot, small pinprick like haemorrhages (called petechiae) can be due to a local lesion, a generalised septicaemia or toxaemia caused by acute viral and bacterial infections.

Mine is doing exact same thing it’s flopping around it’s gills are red he has 1 short whisker thing and one long whisker. He has been with my cichlids for a while. But the tank is always kept on being dirty like I have kept cleaning the tank and filter for about 4 times a week non stop. I put some ick liquid stuff that you can get from Walmart. And the water has little bubbly foam towards the surface and now I have 3 cichlids dead and the Cory I think is trying to die, and my others are acting like they’re going to die too soon. I need to know what’s happening to them and what I need to do?

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Mackenzie and welcome to the forum

Can you start a new thread for your fish?
this one is really old and it's easier for people trying to help you if you start a new thread.

If you can post a picture of your sick fish that would help.

Check the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH of the water and post the results in numbers in the new thread.